(en) Britain, solfed: Campaign against insecurity in Sandemans

Date
Thu, 8 Jun 2017 00:30:14 +0300

gig economy activity report anarcho-syndicalism direct action ---- At Easter,
Liverpool-SolFed made a call out to protest against working conditions at Sandemans, a
company who offers "Free Tours" in Liverpool and across Europe. "Free Tour" does not mean
that guides are volunteers. In Sandeman's case they are ‘self-employed workers' and their
incomes are based on the tips that are given at the end of the tour and out of those tips
workers have to pay a variable amount of money per tourist to the company. This is,
according to Sandemans, a "marketing fee". ---- Sandemans' business model seems to be the
new fashion among the many business. Some people call it the "Gig Economy". Companies
don´t have employees but "use the services" of self-employees, meaning they have no
responsibilities and don't have to give any rights like holidays, sick-pay, pension, job
security, etc
Liverpool-SolFed, through the initiative of a former guide, called out for a campaign to
denounce the working conditions of Sandemans guides and to inform the users of the reality
behind the "Free Tours".

A group of supporters, went to the meeting point at St George´s Hall, to distribute
information among the guides and the tourists. Actions also took place in other cities
that Sandemans operates like Madrid, Barcelona and Prague.
The management's answer was the expected - denying everything and threatening legal action
for defamation in case we kept the campaign. And given the gig economy context, it is true
that you can't use words like "dismissed" or say that your company "forces" you to do
anything when you are self-employed.

As we have done in other cases, we want to say loud and clear that the so-called "Gig
Economy" is an attack on workers' rights. The self-employed status, in this case, is
nothing but a trick which does not benefit the workers but puts them in a vulnerable
position. It is a joke to talk about "flexibility" or "free configuration of your working
time" when is your employer -customer in their languaje- decision to give you work or not
without any explanation.

In Sandemans the insecurity is even worse as the pay is tips-based (and the "Free Tour"
publicity does not help this). As even management acknowledge, it's not the job to have if
you want to make long-term plans like having children.
We wonder what is going to happen with long term-plans when any job-security definitively
disappears thanks to innovative companies like Sandemans?